Viking Next Door
by BlueSmerf
Summary: Ruffnut is always feeling second best to Astrid. She feels as though she is just the next door neighbor to Berk's best warrior. After all...Who can compete with perfection? Tuffnut and Ruffnut sibling love at the end, not incest. Oneshot.


**A/N: So, I'm working on my other stories, but I wanted to write this quick song-fic to kind of let out some of my feelings of stress and always being second best to just about everyone I meet. I hope you enjoy and don't fret! My other stories will be updated very soon, probably in the order of Doppelganger and then Shattered Mirror. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own How to Train Your Dragon. If I did, I'd have Ruffnut actually SAY something in the TV series and not just be an accessory to Tuffnut. (End Author Rant)**

**Oh, I also do not own Girl Next Door. That belongs to Saving** **Jane.**

* * *

Ruffnut huffed, watching Astrid fly flawlessly through the loops of Hiccup's newest dragon training lesson. Large posts were scattered about a large field, each one having a loop at the top. Today's lesson was fairly straight forward, just fly your dragon through the each hoop in the correct order.

But, of course, bickering with Tuffnut made Barf try to go the opposite way than Belch when the two headed dragon had tried, but fail, at maneuvering around the post. The twins ended up smashing face first into the pole, falling off their dragon only to be caught by Toothless.

So, now, here she was. Sitting beside immature, twin brother, being forced to watch Astrid perfectly glide through the air on Stormfly. Oh, how she wished to receive those awed looks and friendly praises. But, alas, Ruffnut, was given nothing but stern looks and scoldings. It wasn't her fault her brother insisted on her coming along every time he or Snotlout planned on causing trouble, it just always turned out in a way that made it look like she was helping them with their scheme.

Ruffnut had good qualities to make for her bad ones, just like any other person. She could sneak through the village almost like a shadow. She knew practically every braid known to man. She figured out a recipe that both Barf and Belch liked. She had lots of secret and not so secret attributes. But, it looked as though she only good recognized for her bad ones.

Even her twin chose the perfect blond over her. He would always try to impress her, even though he wouldn't admit it. She even heard him confess to Snotlout one night that he wished Astrid was his sister instead. Needless to say, those weren't the words Ruffnut wished to hear from her brother.

And, now, as she sat in that warm, sunlit field, watching Astrid do tricks and stunts on the tip of Stormfly's tail, Ruffnut knew that one day, she would be recognized as the witty, skillful girl she knew she was.

* * *

"Alright, guys. I say that for Thor's Day, we should reenact the Red Death's defeat," Astrid proposed, standing proudly with her hands on her hips.

Hiccup nodded, his green eyes sparkling, "Yeah, good idea, Astrid."

"But, didn't we do that last year?" Ruffnut recalled. Then, she tried seeing if they accepted her idea. "What if we did a play showing off every dragon in the Book of Dragons?"

"Nah, that's lame," Snotlout interjected. "Let's just do Astrid's idea and blow up the giant stack of flour this year."

Tuffnut snickered, "Yeah, sounds awesome."

Hiccup gave Ruffnut an apologetic look and said, "Sorry, Ruff, but majority votes for Red Death. We'll try out your idea next year, alright?"

Hiding her disappointment behind a smirk, Ruffnut replied, "Sure, no problem."

Only when her friends and brother walked away, is when she let her smile slip.

* * *

"And the Creative Rider award goes to...Astrid Hofferson!" Gobber cried, grinning into the crowd of cheering vikings.

Astrid strutted proudly up to the stage, her head held high as the one-handed man slipped the golden medal around her neck. With a proud smile, she faced the crowd, waving to Hiccup in the back. The scrawny brunette waved back, chuckling as his friends wildly pumped their fists into the air, cheering for their blond companion.

However, one of the teens wasn't all that celebratory. Ruffnut visibly deflated as she watched Astrid win yet another reward. It had only been ten minutes since she won Most Elegant Rider, and five minutes before that she had won Stealthiest Female Warrior.

_I may as well give up now,_ Ruffnut thought. _It's no secret that she's going to win every award I was going for, and then some...Man, when did I become so bitter? I'm turning into Mildew._

Shuddering at the thought of herself becoming the repulsive, old man, Ruffnut stalked off by herself, desperately trying to think of ways she could improve herself. She felt depression rake its claws deeper and deeper as Astrid won yet another award.

_Why does she have to be so_ **_perfect_**_?_

* * *

"Woo! This is awesome!" Snotlout cackled, sprinting off the cliff and diving gracelessly into the water below. The other teens laughed as he came up, complaining about getting sand in some...interesting places. Fishlegs then crept over to the edge, looking down into the lake Snotlout was currently floating in. He whimpered, attempting to go back, until Tuffnut gave him a violent shove off the edge. The large boy cried and screamed the entire way down.

"Was that really necessary?" Astrid drawled, putting her hands on her hips.

Ruffnut rolled her eyes, "With him, of course it was."

Tuffnut smirked at the two girls, before running off the edge of the cliff, letting out a "manly" scream on the way down. Hiccup, of course, was already in the lake; he didn't want to further damage his already missing leg jumping off a cliff. That would be rather difficult to explain to Stoick.

So, with all of the boys down in the lake shove each other underwater, it just left Ruffnut and Astrid alone together on top of the cliff. Ruffnut looked down at the sand they were standing on, getting a bit anxious of the sturdiness of what they were currently standing on top of.

"Uh, Astrid? You sure this cliff is, you know...Stable?"

Astrid blinked at the taller blond, before looking down at the ground. Giving the cliff an experimental stomp, she looked back to the female twin and said, "Looks fine to me."

As if on cue, a low rumble came from beneath their feet. Then, within a split second, the sand shifted and went down off the edge, as if it were an avalanche. The two girls stumbled to get to steady ground, only for their feet to get swept away in the rapidly depleting sand.

Both of them screamed as they tumbled down into the cold water of the lake below. Ruffnut's eyes slowly opened, before widening at the sight of a rather large trout in front of her. Quickly, she swam to the surface for air, bursting through the barrier between her and oxygen.

At first, Ruffnut felt anxious at the sight of no one being around, but relaxed once she saw the boys just a couple feet away. But, once she processed the scene, her heart seemed to be squeezed by an icy claw. Before her were Hiccup, Tuffnut, Snotlout, and Fishlegs all gathered around a panting Astrid. Although the flawless blond assured them she was fine, the boys continued to fuss over the girl.

_Not even my own twin brother came to check is I was alright..._

Just then, Rufnut felt a sting on her leg. Looking down, she noticed with a grimace that her left thigh had a rather large gash on it and was beginning to turn the water crimson. With an emotionless sigh, the teen dragged herself to the edge of the lake, pulling herself out and grabbing her helmet. Wincing, she managed to pull on her clothes and start to limp her way back to the village.

She didn't really feel like swimming anyway.

* * *

"Alright, today you will be learning skills that will you need to be successful in hand-to-hand combat," Gobber announced, waving his hook around for emphasis.

Snotlout groaned, "We just did this yesterday."

"You don't question the teacher, the teacher questions you," Gobber reprimanded, before straightening out once more. "Now then, let's see...Ah, Astrid! Ruffnut! You first."

Ruffnut visibly shrunk, her blue-grey eyes following Astrid as she cracked her knuckles. Gulping loudly, the taller, but scrawnier, girl trudged into the arena. She stood across from Astrid, raising her fists in a somewhat defensive manner. She could hear her bother and Snotlout betting on who would win. Both of decided it would be Astrid in the end.

_Well...Not like I've got anything to lose...Except, maybe the rest of my dignity._

"Ready...FIGHT!" Gobber roared. Astrid leaped forward, impressively hooking her foot around Ruffnut's ankle and pulling it out from under her. The taller blond yelp as she felt her ankle twist under her awkward landing, but had little time to dwell on it as Astrid pounced on her again, this time landing on her chest and pinning her arms above her head.

"Well done, Astrid, very well done," Gobber praised, walking over to the pair. Ruffnut could see Snotlout and Tuffnut fist bumping out of the corner of her eye. She huffed as Astrid got off of her, sitting up and watching as the blond strutted back into her place in line. Gobber looked to Ruffnut confusedly, and said, "You can get up now."

Tuffnut snickered as Ruffnut blushed, quickly scrambling up and coming to a stand next to him in line. As Gobber began to blabber on about what Astrid had done right, Tuffnut chortled in her ear, "Smooth move, sis. You almost had enough time to blink this round."

Ruffnut didn't even respond, just looked stonily ahead as her mind continuously screamed comments of self-hatred at her heart.

* * *

"Why can't you do that?"

Ruffnut blinked, then punched her insensitive brother in the arm. Lately, it's been getting harder and harder for the girl to let her talents shine, meanwhile Astrid only seemed to be getting more and more perfect. The straggly girl had enough trouble as it is to get her own parents to prefer over Astrid, and now even her twin was comparing her to the flawless blond.

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that Astrid got all of the praise. It wasn't fair that Astrid was so skilled in combat. It wasn't fair that Astrid could bake, and clean, and work, and build, and train better. It wasn't fair that the guys only saw Astrid as a girl and not Ruffnut. It wasn't fair how perfect Astrid was, and how continued to perfect herself.

"It's not fair..." Ruffnut grumbled, glaring down at her boots.

"Huh?" Tuffnut said. "Did you say something?"

Ruffnut sigh, "No...I'm gonna head home."

Without waiting for her twin to reply, Ruffnut turned and left the arena. She was tired of sitting in the stands while Astrid was with Hiccup in the middle of the arena, center of attention like she always was.

* * *

After a long walk through the forest, Ruffnut managed to find the spot where Hiccup had discover Toothless. She hopped down from the rocks and came to a stop next to the small, clear lake. She sat at the edge, looking down at her reflection. What she saw disgusted her.

She hated everything about her appearance. Her hair was entangled in those dorky, goofy-looking braids. Her face was long and pointed, reminding her of a horse. Her eyes were a boring grey that had a light, but hardly noticeable, blue shading. Her arms were like sticks covered in slightly softened clay. Her chest was small, so flat that she could be considered a boy if she didn't have the long hair.

Ruffnut scowled down at her reflection, grumbling to herself, "Why can't you be like her?"

Then, letting defeat washed over her features, she muttered softly, "...Why can't I be like her?"

Little did she know, a pair of identical, grey-blue eyes watched her silently from behind, before disappearing into the forest.

* * *

Ruffnut awoke the next morning alone in her house, both her parents and Tuffnut were gone. Her parents had jobs to do in the village, but Tuffnut was usually sleeping or getting dressed when she woke. She rolled her eyes, knowing that he was with the other guys in the arena, drooling over Astrid.

_Give me a break..._

Ruffnut sluggishly got dressed and headed out the door. She began walking towards the Mead Hall when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Ruff! Hey, Ruff!"

The blond turned to see her twin, Tuffnut, a top of their dragon. Barf and Belch landed in front of her, Barf in particular nuzzled his face into her hand. With a chuckle, Ruffnut scratched the head under the chin and looked up her brother.

"What's up?"

"Come on! I wanna show you something!"

Rolling her eyes at her twin's antics, Ruffnut climbed up on her side of the dragon and let Tuff take control of where they were off to.

_If it's to show me that pit full of fire worms again, I sweat I'm going to push him in this time._

* * *

"You made me miss breakfast...To take me to the lake?" Ruffnut deadpanned, looking down at the water with a bored expression. However, if looked close, you could see she was avoiding her reflection at almost all costs. Tuffnut, being her twin, noticed that immediately.

"Yep," He quipped. "Now, look at your reflection."

Ruffnut did as she was told.

"Now, what do you see?"

"A girl who's hungry, and getting annoyed with her brother."

Tuffnut rolled his eyes, "No, tell me what you think you look like."

"This is stupid!"

"Shut up! I'm older, so you have to do what I say!"

"You're only older by like...ten minutes!"

"Still came out first, now what do you see!"

Ruffnut huffed, looking down at her reflection once more. She could Tuffnut looking at it closely as well, looking at the water expectantly. With a sigh, the viking girl confessed, "I see a girl who will be nothing more than the viking who lives next door to the village's best warrior and dragon rider. I see...A girl who's ugly, useless, and...Will always be second best to Astrid."

Tuffnut blinked, looking up from the reflection to his sister. Ruffnut didn't look back at him, just continued to stared sadly at her reflection, feeling her eyes sting with tears of shame and embarrassment. She knew this is probably what her brother wanted. To get her out here, make her cry, then have something to hang over her for the rest of her life. Well, if that was what her wanted, then he got what he wished.

Ruffnut felt the tears begin to spill down her cheeks as she turned to leave, only to be stopped by a hand around her wrist. She blinked, looking back at her brother who said, "Wait, you never let me tell you what I see."

_Great. Now it's time to rub salt in the wound..._

Ruffnut begrudgingly came and stood in her original spot, looking down at her reflection with a disappointed look. She would never be as smart, brave, talented, or as beautiful as Astrid, even if she tried. She closed her eyes, waiting for the insults to come pouring in.

"Hey, open your eyes! How can I tell you what I see if I don't see all of what I'm explaining!" Tuffnut complained. He smirked at his sister's compliance, but frowned as soon as he saw the tears begin gathering in her eyes once more. Taking a deep breath, and silently praying to gods he wouldn't sound cheesy, he said, "Well...uh...I see a girl with long, pretty, platinum blond hair. She has a pretty face with beautiful blue eyes, with freckles going across her nose like tiny dragon tracks...Uh...She has a pretty, slim figure with a tiny bit of curves. She is smart, secretly a pushover, loves baby dragons, and lets her brother annoy her even if she's had a horrible day. I see my beautiful sister, Ruffnut. But," he said, turning to look at his twin, "she's even prettier when she smiles."

Ruffnut blinked at her reflection, before whipping her head up to stare at her brother. She felt her cheeks blush when Tuffnut looked at her expectantly, not at all phased by what he had just said. With a bit of hesitance, she let her lips slowly twitch up into a smile.

Tuffnut beamed at her, "There we go! Now come on, dragon-butt! We gotta get to the Mead Hall before all of the bacon's gone!"

Ruffnut smirked, before taking off in a sprint, easily passing her brother. She looked back over her shoulder, shouting, "Race ya!"

The twins' laughs echoed through the forest, sending birds flying out of their trees. Their Zippleback watched fondly from above, grinning in unison that their female rider was finally happy once more.

* * *

And so, Ruffnut continued to watched as Astrid received award, after award, cheering for her with her brother as the blond got up and down from the stage. Ruffnut continued to watch Astrid fly with Stormfly and train as if she had been doing every lesson her entire life.

And Tuffnut continued to remind her that even though she was the viking next door, she was still his beautiful baby sister.

"Ten minutes!"

"Out! First!"

* * *

**A/N: Well...That was fun. Remember, reviews are rainbow Toothless kisses galloping into the chocolate sunset...*In case you couldn't tell, I'm a little tired.* So, yea...Good night everyone!**


End file.
